The holiday season brings many expenses. People have to prepare their budget for various gifts and meals for the Christmas Eve dinner. Yes, indeed Christmas is one occasion that everyone spends so much on. However, that is not the only thing that requires proper financial management. The New Year celebration also requires a certain amount of money estimation, mainly due to the fact that it also has a traditional dinner before and after the clock strikes twelve. This doesn’t even include the after party, something which we Filipinos love even after the fireworks had ended. With this, we had prepared a few tips to ensure that you will be able to save a reasonable amount even after the whole celebration, something that will make your cash last longer than the ten minutes fireworks display after the countdown.
1. Budget your Christmas to save for New Year.
This is top priority with all financial concerns. If you spend too much for Christmas without setting anything aside for the New Year celebration, then don’t be surprised why you wouldn’t have any amount left by then. As with any type of budget, plan ahead of time and avoid overspending on something which will only last for a week or two, go for long term plans so that you will be able to avoid cutting too much corners on other upcoming occasions. Yes, Christmas is a major once-a-year occasion, but that doesn’t mean you should indulge all finances in one go. Set aside a few amount for the New Year celebration so you may have no trouble in budgeting thereafter.
2. Recycle your decors from Christmas.
Yes, you’ve read that right. We Filipinos do not actually end Christmas right after December 25th; in fact, we only remove the Christmas decorations a few days into the first week of January. With that in mind, do not take the Christmas tree down immediately, as our belief of polka dots and all things round bring luck, so must we leave the Christmas bubble decorations hanging. Never put away the green and red colors of Christmas as they add to the magnificent lights of the fireworks as well during the New Year celebration. Perhaps the only thing you may remove would be the Christmas lights. This is to save on electricity bills and to avoid sparking a few wires, especially during the fireworks-infested parties in the streets before the countdown.
3. Have fun with parlor games.
Parlor games are the staple of every Filipino party. Who wouldn’t be familiar with stop dance, newspaper dance, and musical chairs? They’re fun, they’re easy to organize, and their prize usually ends up being very affordable. Kid participants may receive knick-knacks and toys lower than P30 as prize, while adult participants may receive picture frames and Tupperware. This is planning at its basic form, yet fun at the highest level.
4. Christmas leftovers? More like New Year celebration feast.
Don’t be quick in throwing out leftovers from the Christmas Eve dinner. Any excess roast pork from the occasion? Make them into stew; they wouldn’t go bad with proper refrigeration. How about leftover cheese? No worries, convert them into toppings for other New Year’s Day meal. The possibilities are endless and you would be able to save big as you wouldn’t have to spend money for additional ingredients and groceries anymore.
So, you are a few hours away from the New Year’s celebration and are preparing to greet your loved ones a fruitful year through text. However, as luck would have it, you ran out of load. You try to load via your local store, but they also end up empty due to the countless numbers of families loading up for the festivity greetings later. No worries, as we here in Cebuana Lhuillier offer our E-Load Service, an accessible loading station for prepaid internet and mobile phone users subscribed to major telecommunication networks. So what are you waiting for? Visit your nearest Cebuana Lhuillier branch now – we assure a fast, easy and secure transaction.